The Kings of Summer

The feature debut of director Jordan Vogt-Roberts is a slightly ragged affair that owes more than a little to Rob Reiner's classic coming-of-age flick Stand by Me, but in a few of its funny and tender moments, it's nearly as good. Joe (Nick Robinson) and Patrick (Gabriel Basso) are a couple of pals who, tiring of what they see as parental oppression, run away to the woods to fend for themselves and are joined by oddball kid Biaggio (an appealingly strange Moises Arias). The boys' attempts at self-sufficiency are as shambolic as their accommodation, with most of the food coming from a convenience store across the street. Later, the intrusion of girls destabilises their relationship with each other - the film's main strength - as well as the rhythm of the screenplay, which subsequently loses focus. But these latter-day "Swallows and Amazons" have enough easy charm in nicely pitched, poignant scenes to withstand a few bumps and the performances from the three boys are immensely likeable.